Rushden & Diamonds 4 Forest Green Rovers 2: Careless and cumbersome in this limp defeat, Forest Green can only hope they can sink no lower.

They were ahead inside six minutes thanks to a debut goal from Sean Rigg, only to subside alarmingly at the back and ensure a fifth straight Blue Square Premier loss this term became inevitable.

Rigg's opener came from the first visiting attack of note, as he was fed by Steve Davies inside the area and cleverly worked an angle to finish with his left foot.

The on-loan Bristol Rovers man could have had another four minutes later when he seized on an error by Jamie Stuart and was only just pipped to the loose ball by onrushing keeper Dale Roberts.

Rushden's 13th-minute leveller came when a Lee Tomlin corner was nodded back across the face of goal by Simon Downer, enabling Craig Farrell to head home.

From that moment Farrell was a menace to the Rovers backline, twice forcing Burton into saves with an acrobatic scissor-kick and a snap-shot from close range.

The ever-increasing pressure told on 27 minutes, Curtis Osano swinging in a cross for Mark Byrne to get above Jon Challinor and make it 2-1.

Another niggle meant ex-Diamond Conal Platt did not make it to half-time on his return to Nene Park, although his only noteworthy contribution had been a swerving shot that was comfortably gathered by Roberts.

It could have been even worse for caretaker boss David Brown at the break, with Burton having to save well from Cliff Akurang before Matthew Pattison's shot cannoned off a post.

Brown made a tactical change for the second period, moving Challinor to right-back and pushing Jon Else into midfield.

Rigg remained his brightest light, and an audacious effort from an improbable angle had to be helped over the bar by Roberts.

A far clearer chance came Rigg's way just after the hour-mark. Put clean through by Brown, he took time to pick his spot but was denied by the Diamonds keeper. How costly it proved, as on 65 minutes Rovers inexplicably stopped defending to appeal for offside and Akurang had the simplest of finishes at the far post.

An exasperated Brown had to clear Byrne's shot off the line before an unlikely fillip at the other end, substitute Ross Stearn smashing one into the top corner from 20 yards to make it 3-2 with eight minutes left.

It proved to be a false dawn, as in the 84th minute Rushden substitute Aaron O'Connor brushed off a timid challenge from Preece and curled the ball beyond a despairing Burton.

The hosts could have piled on Brown's pain, and he must have been grateful for small mercies when an unmarked Akurang headed wide from a stoppage-time corner.